Pasadena, Calif. — The cast and crew of NBC’s Last Comic Standing took on the Trevor Noah controversy and the question of whether Twitter has affected their online personas.
“I don’t tweet anymore really because of some of the outrage that I’ve received,” said Last Comic Standing host Anthony Jeselnik, who was first to reply Thursday to a reporter’s question about how Twitter comments affect his social media presence.
The question, which came during the show’s panel at NBCUniversal’s summer press day, did not outright mention Noah, who came under fire for tweets he made several years ago. The tweets were brought up after Comedy Central named Noah as Jon Stewart’s successor on The Daily Show.
“It’s people who wouldn’t come see you live getting upset because of something they saw on the Internet,” said Jeselnik.
Last Comic Standing judge Keenen Ivory Wayans added that he doesn’t tweet.
“It’s a forum for idiots,” he said. “I don’t know why anyone gives any credence to it. It’s just somebody with an opinion, so who cares?”
So far, the backlash hasn’t changed Comedy Central’s decision about Noah: “To judge him or his comedy based on a handful of jokes is unfair. Trevor is a talented comedian with a bright future at Comedy Central.”
